Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 896 Do you feel the same sometimes?

It was late at night, the party was over, everyone went home, and agreed to meet again before leaving. Xinuo didn't know if she would have the chance to meet with them again, but the atmosphere was just right, so she didn't say anything to spoil the fun, just smiled and nodded as a response. The street lights cast a dim and gloomy residual light, and she stood in the light, as if standing on an isolated island in the black ocean, quietly watching the backs of her friends gradually walk away, until they said goodbye to each other at the next intersection and went their separate ways, as if foreshadowing their future ending.

On the road of life, no one can accompany you to the end, but at least, friendship will remain in your heart forever.

She exhaled lightly, turned around and gave everyone a warm smile: "Then let's go back, everyone."

"Actually, I think I can still fight..."

Alice, who did nothing at the party but ate and drank, touched her still smooth and flat belly, but she did not feel satisfied at all. She was always gifted at eating, drinking and having fun, and she did not know where all the food she ate went.

But Saint Shallia would not listen to this fellow's advice. She stroked her neck gently with one hand and led her away directly. She also took away Gloria, who was asked for her autograph more than a dozen times at the party, and a trio of good friends who were also very satisfied with their meal. Due to the power of the Kingdom of Mind, the appearance of the traveling fairies and vampires at the human party did not cause too much commotion. In everyone's eyes, they were just three cute cubs. Because they were too cute, they attracted a lot of caring people to feed them, which was in sharp contrast to Alice who could only find food by herself.

So being cute has human rights, no matter in which world.

Seeing Saint Xia Liya leading them to the carriage, Ling Ge did not move and remained standing there. It was not until Xino cast a puzzled look at him and was about to ask a question that he opened his mouth and said, "Did Miss Leila make you make up your mind?"

This question was a bit sudden, and Xino was stunned for a moment, but she quickly reacted and nodded gently: "I guess so - but it's more than that. Vincent, Phyllis, George, President Craig, it's always a pleasure to meet old friends again. The encouragement from them will give me strength. Also, my grandfather once said something to me. Although he didn't force me to make any choice, I think it makes sense. So, I want to do this and contribute some of my own strength to the land of Grangenia."

"Then it was just as recorded in history. At the critical moment, the ancestor Hiberton led his army to help, and together with the Saint Lady, they defeated the enemy from both inside and outside. After this incident, he realized that the tide of war was in full swing and irreversible. No matter how much he wanted to live in peace in a corner, the secret spying from ambitious people would sooner or later drag Grangenia into the war. In this case, he might as well take the initiative to join the fight and rectify the chaos as soon as possible, so as to bring true peace to the people of his hometown. So, he joined the rebels, followed the Saint Lady in the battles, and together they created the great Republican era."

Lingge said bluntly, and this comment made Xino smile bitterly, but he did not refute it.

The young man had no intention of delving into this topic, so he said, "You said that the mission of sealing the beasts was inherited from the White Knight Hibernton. Does that mean that the so-called beasts are indeed related to the Windmill Cross? The reason why the White Knight agreed to join Joan of Arc's uprising was also driven by this incident, right?"

The girl looked up at the half-moon in the sky. Her voice was low and like a whisper, but it was clearly heard by the young man with the night wind: "The seal of the beast is loosening. I'm afraid it won't be long before it wakes up completely. Resealing it is the glorious mission inherited by the Gustaf family since the ancestors of Hiberdon. Many people sacrificed for this. I didn't understand their choice at that time. It was not until now that I realized that some people are born to live in response to expectations. If I were to be timid and lose the confidence and courage to fight, I'm afraid that in the end, my grandfather would fight on my behalf, either resealing the beast or... dying at the hands of the beast."

"I think you're a very good girl, but you always think too much and maybe a little sensitive."

As early as the founding of the Republic, this land had a new name, but the descendants of Whitethorn Flower are still accustomed to calling it by its old name, just as the name represents: a land of hope and rebirth.

"Yes." Xino nodded and whispered a piece of history buried deep in time: "Since Vince's ancestor pioneered the land of Granjinia, the Windmill Cross has been eyeing this land, but due to the existence of the white thorn flower flag, it has never found an opportunity to start. But the Republican War became the trigger for the outbreak of contradictions. You know, as the oldest secret society in the White City, the Windmill Cross has always maintained close ties with the royal family. They are vested interests on the same front. Therefore, on the one hand, in order to fight against the uprising army of the Saint Lady, and on the other hand, in order to find an excuse to invade Granjinia, they used a forbidden holy relic of the 'Creator' path to integrate the earth, mountains, forests, plants and even life into one, creating a terrible synthetic beast, which once forced the Saint Lady's army into a desperate situation."

Judging from Van Der Jean Gustaf's aging body, the ending is most likely the latter.

This is the original appearance of the legend, but because it involves secret societies and forbidden relics, the Witch Society erased the relevant records after the promulgation of the "Truth and Civilization Initiative Treaty". They have been committed to isolating the real world from the mysterious world and preventing extraordinary elements from infiltrating the lives of ordinary people, which has created many unsolved mysteries in the historical community.

"If it really comes to that, then I, as your granddaughter, would be unfilial." When Xinuo said this, she suddenly laughed at herself: "In fact, I have been very unfilial since the beginning, which has disappointed many people. Fortunately, it is not too late to repent now. What do you think, Mr. Lingge?"

If Lingge had not found some relevant records in the library of the Gustaf family, he might have been completely confused about what happened to Xino.

but.

Linger frowned. "Since the synthetic beast has been defeated by the White Knight and Joan of Arc, why did they just seal it instead of completely destroying it?" "Because it is easy to defeat it, but it will cost a huge price to destroy it." Xino explained, "The forbidden holy relic called 'God of Su' has incredible power. It can absorb vitality to strengthen itself. The vitality here refers not only to living things such as plants, beasts and humans, but also to dead things such as mountains, rocks and even soil. The object whose vitality is absorbed will lose the 'base point' that maintains its existence. For living things, it means death, and for dead things, it means losing some original characteristics, such as mountains becoming barren, rocks becoming fragile, and soil losing nutrients. It is said that in the distant past, this holy relic was the remains of a god and was enshrined in his tomb, but it was lost in the disaster that caused the four empires to fall apart, and eventually fell into the hands of the Windmill Cross."

The remains of the gods of ancient times... The first thing that Ling Ge thought of was the God of Disaster Abraham. He was the first to discover the "Law of Spiritual Fusion" that devours the extraordinary people of opposite paths to delay erosion, which indirectly led to the intensification of the Dark Ages. Therefore, Fei Er called it "the method for beasts to become stronger." However, it is said that the God of Disaster Abraham did not die in the disaster of the natural disaster, and is still hidden in a corner of the East Continent. He is also one of the mortal enemies that the Witch Society wants to get rid of as soon as possible.

Since He is not dead, this holy relic must have come from several other saints - they established four empires and created a glorious era for mankind, but they were unable to resist erosion and fell into madness in the disaster of divine change. They degenerated from emperors revered by all to irrational mad gods. The chaos and blindness of the extraordinary system can be seen from this.

Lingge did not agree with the philosophy of the Witch Society, but at least he agreed with their approach of introducing a magic system to replace the supernatural system. However, these were off-topic matters, and he quickly withdrew his thoughts and continued to listen to Xino's story.

"At that time, the Saint was undoubtedly the most powerful magician in the land of White City. She was also protected by several Lord-Granted Knights. Although the Windmill Cross was ambitious, they did not think that they could destroy the rebels with just one holy relic. So they made a bold decision: instead of using the power of the Golem through conventional means, they directly destroyed this forbidden holy relic to draw out the creative power of madness and chaos inside it. Then, with the ancient alchemy they mastered, they merged this power with the earth veins and artificially refined a terrifying monster with the power of creation, destruction and regeneration. They called it a synthetic beast, and the ancient alchemists called it... a chimera."

Ringer commented: "It sounds crazy."

"Perhaps it's even crazier than you think." Xino smiled slightly. "In the unsystematic ancient alchemy, alchemists have different names and views on ley lines, but they all believe that they are the magic center of an area, in charge of the vitality of all living and dead things in the area. Once the magic power of the ley lines is exhausted, all life within the area covered by it will cease to exist: the grass and trees will wither, the sunlight will fade, the soil will become desertified, the water sources will dry up... until it is completely destroyed."

Lingge was thoughtful: "So, the reason why the White Knight and Joan of Arc are unwilling to completely eliminate the synthetic beast is that it is too deeply connected to the earth veins. If it is forcibly eliminated, it may cause irreversible effects on the land of Grangenia?"

"kindness."

Shino nodded slightly. "Specifically, it is impossible to be as serious as the ancient alchemists described. After all, much of their understanding of the ley lines is based on imagination. But the loss of the vitality connected to the ley lines alone is enough to turn half of Grangenia's land from a prosperous and beautiful field into a barren dead land with no vitality. By then, who knows how many people will lose their homes and leave their homes, and who knows how many aliens will be displaced and die in the disaster."

When the girl said these words, her face was not angry at all, but calm. However, Ling Ge knew that sometimes the most violent storm is always hidden under the calm appearance. Only those who are patient will choose to endure and vent it at the most appropriate time. By then, everyone will see how much terrifying power is contained in this thin body.

"In order to prevent the worst from happening, after discussing with the Saint Lady and the wise man in the rebel army at that time, the 'Paladin' Lord Ruslan, the ancestor Aberdon decided to temporarily seal the beast in the Trovenica ruins and let it wake up regularly. Each time, they would arrange for people to defeat and seal it again. In this way, they would consume its power and return the plundered vitality to this land bit by bit. As the guardian of Grangenia, the Whitethorn Flower Godafu family is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate. We have been watching here for nearly seven hundred years. Countless great ancestors fought the terrifying beast with their spears and passion, and they were able to defeat it every time and firmly contain it in the seal of the ruins, protecting the hard-won peace for the land of Grangenia."

"In battle after battle, the power of the beast was gradually weakened, so we thought that it might be time to end it all in one battle. As long as the beast can be completely eliminated, the people of Grangenia will no longer be threatened, and the heavy and glorious mission of the Whitethorn Flower Godafu family will come to an end. However, this is a very difficult task, because the synthetic beast is just as its name suggests, a beast, and beasts are often the most dangerous when they are dying. Therefore, although the Godafu family tried several times, they failed every time. Although they were able to maintain the seal in the end, the sealer often had to pay a tragic price, that is, his life."

At this point, Shino slowly raised his head and gave the young man a complex smile: "I believe you should have guessed that my father died in the process of sealing the beast. He originally wanted to do everything he could, whether it was renewing the oath with the aliens or completely eliminating the threat of the beast, so that I, his daughter, could put aside those heavy burdens and live without worries... But in the end, it seems that nothing was accomplished. So, the name of paranoid does not seem to be a one-sided word people say about him, right?"

Lingge was silent after hearing this. He could tell that the girl's tone was not actually complaining, but rather self-deprecating. It seemed that this past was far more complicated than what Xinuo described. However, as a bystander, he had no understanding of those complicated family affairs and naturally could not give an appropriate evaluation. Therefore, after thinking it over again and again, he could only use his personal feelings as an answer: "I think he is a very good father."

"why?"

"Because I have a father just like him."

"..."

"..."

The long silence made the night seem to become the background. The lights of high-rise buildings in the distance blurred in the canvas of the city. Everything began to fade, and only the soothing breathing sound was still stirring in the residual light of the street lamps. They were clearly two shadows, but they sounded like the same breathing.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)